Hand to Hand trains teachers to combat online child abuse

Staffers of a Pattaya children’s shelter trained to help prevent kids from being exploited on the Internet trained area teachers on its abuse-prevention methods.

The Hand to Hand Foundation’s Margaret Grainger opened the Dec. 21 workshop at Pattaya City Hall sponsored by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Center of the United Kingdom.

The Hand to Hand Foundation’s Margaret Grainger trains area teachers to help prevent kids from being exploited on the Internet.

The seminar covered how to protect and care for people who use the Internet, offering practical exercises in searching for and identifying harmful websites and information. The organization follows up initial training three and six months afterward and previously provided its expertise to officials in Bangkok.

The CEOP is responsible for the investigation, prevention and suppression of violence and abuse against children through online media. It is also responsible for providing knowledge and training to staff members who work with children. Hand to Hand shelter personnel were trained in recent similar workshops run directly by the British organization which last trained 400 social workers who have passed on their knowledge to create a child-protection network of more than 4,000 people.

In addition to practical exercises on searching for information and using multimedia equipment, the workshop offered lectures on child protection and how to integrate their new knowledge into everyday business operations.